PROVIDENCE – One of eight New England organizations honored earlier this month, the Providence After School Alliance was awarded a $300,000 grant from the Barr Foundation to fund further collaboration with the Providence Public School Department’s 360 High School and Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex, according to a PASA release.
With a mission to improve after-school, summer and expanded learning opportunities for Providence’s youth, PASA has helped 14,000 students to date.
Hillary Salmons, PASA executive director, said in a statement: “We believe it is essential for youth to experience a range of quality learning opportunities in schools and beyond the classroom in order to advance their intellectual, social-emotional, creative and physical development. We have seen that in addition to job-specific skills, contemporary employers increasingly look at a candidate’s ability to draw from a multitude of experiences, and place more value on social and emotional skills like collaboration and innovative thinking.”
Based in Boston, the Barr Foundation curates $1.7 billion in assets and works with nonprofits, foundations, the public sector as well as civic and business leaders to invest in “human, natural and creative potential.”
PASA’s Barr funding will last 18 months and target, according to the release, “the wider learning ecosystem to acquire key knowledge and skills to prepare for career and college.” The collaboration will build on existing relationships between PASA and the two participating schools, but now will involve students in the creation of such innovative and expanded learning pathways.
In addition, PASA will use the grant money to implement community outreach, establishing relationships with businesses and entrepreneurs who are also creating ways for youth to achieve success in higher education, and, eventually, the workforce.
The Providence high schools partnered with PASA are two of 11 schools to receive grants – which range in size from $225,000 to $860,000 – in this round of funding.
Emily Gowdey-Backus is a staff writer for PBN. You can follow her on Twitter @FlashGowdey or contact her via email, gowdey-backus@pbn.com.
